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How-to

– 8 min read –

August 20, 2019

How to add a site to Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a tool from Google that shows technical website errors, search traffic, page indexing status, and more. The ability to work with the service is necessary to advance in Google search engine and accelerate internal optimization.

Why do I need to add a site to the Google Search Console?

Search Console is a webmaster panel for Google. Official Google help explains in detail how useful the tool is:

Why you should add your site to Google Search Console

Thanks to the Google Search Console, you get free functionality for internal site monitoring. It remains only to immediately respond to errors.

What happens if you do not add your site to the Google Search Console?

You will lose important information about the indexing of site pages, sitemap.xml, robots.txt and other options. According to Google, adding a website to the console is an option, not a requirement for the webmaster. To get into the index is optional. However, to advance, you need the following tools:

Therefore, for internal site optimization and analysis, the Google console is a must-have.

How to add a site to the Google Search Console?

To register a site in the Google Search Console, you will need a Google account. Create a separate mail for the site. Technical support will help to understand the intricacies. Follow the instructions step by step:

Go to the Google Search Console, click the link and click the "Login" button, which is at the top right:

How to register your site in Google Search Console

After logging in, you will be immediately offered to "Add a resource" by pointing to a hyperlink to it. Add a full link from the address bar along with a flash and with the correct http or https protocol. For example, http://example.com. Copy the link and click "Add resource":

How to add the site to Google Search Console

Confirm the rights to your web resource in one of the following ways:

Verification of the site in Google Search Console

To understand which of the ways: "Recommended method" or "Alternative method" is relevant for you, consider each of them separately.

The recommended way to verify the rights to the site

You will need access to FTP. Download the HTML file to your computer by clicking on it in step 1.

Copy the file to the root folder of the site, as shown in the screenshot of the example root folder for the WordPress platform:

A common mistake is to download the registration file not to the root, but to the internal folders of the root. In this case, the system will not accept confirmation of rights. The file should be located in the root of the site, not in folders.

Complete the registration and click "Confirm".

Alternative verification methods

If you do not have access to FTP or have any other difficulties, you can use alternative confirmation methods. These include:

HTML tag

Select the appropriate field, copy the confirmation key and add the following <meta> tag in the HTML code to the main page. Example:

Place it in the section <head> before the first <body>. A list of possible errors is available by reference.

Checking domain names

To do this, you will need access to a domain registrar with the right to add TXT records, CNAME. Choosing a method of checking through domain names, you will see a window:

Google will provide assistance in Help if necessary. Click the button "Full details" and follow the link. You get a detailed description: who are the providers of domain names and how can you confirm the right to the domain if it is not in the proposed list. Add a text TXT record in DNS to confirm. Choose a provider or domain name registrar from the list.

Confirmation using Google Analytics

Select the field of the same name, as in the picture below:

Rights verification using Google Analytics

You need rights here that allow you to change the site settings in this system. Copy the code, which must contain a fragment analytics.js or gtag.js.

How to find the tracking code?

Log into your Google Analytics account and select your site by clicking "Admin". In the drop-down box, click on the account you want.

In the resource menu, select the desired site. Then click on the field "Tracking" and select "Tracking Code". This contains a tracking identifier.

Then follow the instructions of the Search Console:

Google Analytics tracking id in the page code

This code confirms the rights to the website. When choosing this method, all administrators from Google Analytics also have access to the Google Search Console.

Google Tag Manager

Choose to validate your rights through Tag Manager:

Rights confirmation using Google Tag Manager

Or:

How to confirm the rights to the site with GTM

After installing the container, which is described in more detail on the link above, go to the confirmation of rights in the Google Search Console. You must have permission to "View, Edit, and Manage" at the container level in Google Tag Manager. Insert the Manager's <noscript> element after the page's opening <body> tag.

Common errors when adding a website to the Google Search Console

In the process of confirming rights to a resource, such errors often occur:

Frequent mistakes in Google Search Console

Examine them before you panic if something went wrong.

Conclusion

Adding a site to the Google Search Console is a de facto prerequisite at the start of project promotion.

Search Console setting occurs through the panel, where you first need to confirm the rights to a web resource in one of the ways:

place the HTML file on the server;
add HTML tag;
specify a domain name provider;
connect Google Analytics;
Add Google Tag Manager.

For the first verification method, you need access to FTP. Here upload the finished document to the root.

In the second method, copy the code and place it in the corresponding field of the main page.

To confirm the membership of the site through providers — get access to make an entry.

If you have set up Google Analytics, then use the verification code.

Google Tag Manager will require you to manipulate the containers and place the tag.

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